Comment by xpe
3 days ago
Related, a 5 page page PDF, freely downloadable:
Should assisted dying be legalised?
Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine volume 9, Article number: 3 (2014)
Thomas D G Frost, Devan Sinha & Barnabas J Gilbert
https://peh-med.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1747-5341...
Abstract
When an individual facing intractable pain is given an estimate of a few months to live, does hastening death become a viable and legitimate alternative for willing patients? Has the time come for physicians to do away with the traditional notion of healthcare as maintaining or improving physical and mental health, and instead accept their own limitations by facilitating death when requested? The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge held the 2013 Varsity Medical Debate on the motion “This House Would Legalise Assisted Dying”. This article summarises the key arguments developed over the course of the debate. We will explore how assisted dying can affect both the patient and doctor; the nature of consent and limits of autonomy; the effects on society; the viability of a proposed model; and, perhaps most importantly, the potential need for the practice within our current medico-legal framework.
A quote from the above:
> It is difficult to reconcile that citizens may have the right to do almost anything to and with their own bodies– from participating in extreme sports to having elective plastic surgery– yet a terminal patient cannot choose to avoid experiencing additional months of discomfort or loss of dignity in their final months of life.
One issue I think about a fair bit is that without legal assisted suicide aside from all the usual issues with unassisted suicide you need to end things even earlier to make sure you do it while still physically capable: with age the risk of physical debilitation increases sharply, a bad fall or a small stroke will see you in the hospital or incapable of moving an arm. Which is on top of the risks of mental debilitation taking away your right to self determination (through simple incompetence).